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May 23, 2018

China upgrading air bases closer to India

China has been swiftly upgrading its air bases closer to Indian border, a
development that not only could facilitate sustained military
operations but also protect Beijing’s assets such as fighter jets and
ground equipment from aerial attacks.

Indian security agencies
have apprised the government how major work was on at Hotan airfield in
Xinjiang, just north of Jammu and Kashmir; at Lhasa and also at the
base at Heping-Shigatse, both in Tibet. Already last year,
Heping-Shigaste, located 220 km north of Doklam, the India-China-Bhutan
tri-junction, had been upgraded to have a second runaway.

At
Hotan, several large hangars (concrete structures to house planes) have
been built. Permanent hangars are also being built at Heping-Shigatse.
At Lhasa, aerially just 330 north-east of Sikkim, a hangar built inside a
mountain was almost ready and a new taxiway had also come up, Indian
security agencies have said.

The first tip-off about military
upgrade at Lhasa had come on January 25 this year when a US-based
think-tank, Stratfor, released satellite images of air bases at Lhasa
and Shigaste. Stratfor’s report, ‘Preparing for a rematch at the top of
the world’, claimed build-up by China and India despite the end of the
73-day military stand-off at Doklam.

Besides Hotan, China has
another airfield at Xinjiang in Kashgar. In all, it has a dozen
airfields in Tibet, including the Ngari Gunsa, just 200 km east of
Ladakh, or Nyingchi, just 100 km north of Arunachal Pradesh.

In
response, India also has same number of Advanced Landing Grounds (ALG).
In Arunachal Pradesh, Tuting, Waliong, Along, Passighat and Mechuka
exist while in Ladakh, India has DBO, Nyoma and Fukche as ALGs and
full-fledged airfields at Leh, Kargil and Thoise.

‘Gagan Shakti’ drill was on Dragon Radar ::- Security agencies have told South Block that China monitored the recently concluded air exercise ‘Gagan Shakti’- The exercise, one of the biggest in recent years, simulated fighting Pakistan and China almost simultaneously-
China put up its surveillance aircraft TU 154 MD; Beijing collected
intelligence and more than normal flying activity was observed in Lhasa,
Chengdu and Hotan airfields